ChinchillaPA
Today 2,213 people live in this town, first settled in 1880.
Is Chinchilla a good place to live?
53% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Chinchilla, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. Of the 1,036 Pennsylvania towns we compare, none has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Chinchilla. South Abington Community Park, at 28 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. We don’t grade Chinchilla yet; the figures below are still real.
100% of working residents leave Chinchilla for work
Where Chinchilla’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Moving to Chinchilla: who provides what
Chinchilla is unincorporated, so Lackawanna County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Chinchilla.
The biggest natural risk in Chinchilla is inland flooding, at a very low overall level
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 88% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Chinchilla break down as 68% from inland flooding and 12% from cold waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Chinchilla’s workers commute out: the town has 0.3 jobs for each of them
The top destinations are Scranton (18%), South Abington Township (9%) and Dunmore (4%). Jobs based in Chinchilla fell to 298 in 2023, 136 fewer than in 2013. Its average commute stands at 17 minutes. Half of commuters travel less than 7 miles.
| Chinchilla | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.1% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers: that is Chinchilla’s year
July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 16° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Chinchilla stands out in Pennsylvania and nationally: a smaller share of its adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance
Among adults in Chinchilla, 17% get no exercise outside work. Of 26 CDC measures, Chinchilla beats the Pennsylvania average on 13 and trails it on 1.
| Chinchilla | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chinchilla | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 10.4% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Chinchilla, 2.4% of the land is conserved
In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 1.3 miles of trail. Chinchilla’s trail density comes in at 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Chinchilla | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Abington Community Park | 1 mi | 28 |
| 2. Pinchot State Forest | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Chinchilla sell for about $320K
89% of Chinchilla households are owner-occupiers. In Chinchilla, the midpoint rent is $1,754 a month.
| Chinchilla | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,754 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 89% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Steamtown National Historic Site and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chinchilla. Close and well known come first.
5 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
23 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
32 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park9 mi Theme parkRocky Glen Park
6 mi City parkNay Aug Park
9 mi Ski areaMontage Mountain Ski Area25 runs · 998 ft verticalPhoto credits
Steamtown National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Wallenpaupack: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ricketts Glen State Park: en:User:Msitler, Public domain · Nay Aug Park: The Mebane Greeting Card Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA., Public domain · Montage Mountain Ski Area: Montage Mountain Resorts, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about Chinchilla
Colleges nearby
8 within 15 miles of the center of Chinchilla
About 6 of every 100 Chinchilla residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
About Chinchilla
Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, US
Chinchilla is a village and census-designated place in Scott and South Abington townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The CDP's population was 2,098 at the time of the 2010 United States Census. It was known as "Leach's Flats" until supposedly renamed by a female postmaster in the 1880 after her chinchilla-fur shawl. Chinchilla is located in the gorge of Leggetts Creek, which flows southward into the Lackawanna River on the north side of Scranton. Interstate 81, U.S. Route 6/11 and the Norfolk Southern Railroad (former Lackawanna Railroad) use the gorge between Scranton and Clarks Summit. Chinchilla has its own post office, with ZIP Code 18410.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,165 ft
- ZIP code
- 18410
Chinchilla’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Chinchilla.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinchilla | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Abington Township | #255 | A | D | A− | A | A |
Chinchilla isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Chinchilla with a neighbor →
Questions about Chinchilla
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Chinchilla, PA a good place to live?
We don’t grade Chinchilla yet; the figures below are still real.